Djokovic would like to see rankings points awarded in Rio

Serbia's Novak Djokovic signs autographs after winning his first round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, May 24, 2016. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Michel Euler

May 24, 2016

PARIS (AP) Novak Djokovic would like to see tennis players at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics get ranking points from the ATP and WTA tours, the way they have at past Summer Games.

''To be quite frank, I don't see a reason why not,'' the No. 1-ranked Djokovic said Tuesday after winning his first-round match at the French Open. ''You know, we have the best players in the world participating in, arguably, the fifth Grand Slam. It's of that importance for all of us - even more, because it (only) happens every four years.''

Djokovic owns 11 Grand Slam titles and earned a bronze medal for Serbia in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games. He finished fourth at the 2012 London Games.

International Tennis Federation spokesman Nick Imison said the governing body, which oversees the sport's participation in the Summer Games, ''believes that players are honored to play the Olympics, and that for the majority of players, ranking points are not a consideration for their participation.''

Djokovic called the topic ''a subject for discussion,'' adding: ''I would definitely encourage people to rethink ... getting points out there.''

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